Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd Summary

[2019] FWCA 6796

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

decision

Fair Work Act 2009

s.185—Enterprise agreement

Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd

(AG2019/2729)

Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019

Building, metal and civil construction industries
Deputy President Colman	MELBOURNE, 3 OCTOBER 2019

Application for approval of the Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019

Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd has made an application for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 (the Agreement) pursuant to s 185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act). The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

The Employer has provided written undertakings. A copy of the undertakings is attached in Annexure A. I am satisfied that the undertakings will not cause financial detriment to any employee covered by the Agreement and that the undertakings will not result in substantial changes to the Agreement. The undertakings are taken to be a term of the agreement.

Subject to the undertakings referred to above, and on the basis of the material contained in the application and accompanying statutory declaration, I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss 186, 187, 188 and 190 as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

The Agreement was approved on 3 October 2019 and, in accordance with s 54, will operate from 10 October 2019. The nominal expiry date of the Agreement is 3 October 2023.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

<AE505541 PR712940>
Annexure A

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Fair Work Commission, Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd and the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union were parties to an enterprise agreement which expired on 30 June 2019. The union applied for the agreement to be extended until 30 June 2020 to allow time for negotiations of a new agreement. The company opposed the application, claiming that the agreement should be terminated because it was not in the best interests of the employees. The union argued that the agreement should be extended to protect the employees from uncertainty during negotiations.

The legal issue the Commission had to determine was whether the enterprise agreement should be extended pending the negotiation of a new agreement. The Commission considered whether the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, and whether extending it was necessary to avoid significant harm to the employees. The Commission also considered the company’s opposition to the application, and whether there were exceptional circumstances that justified extending the agreement.

The Commission found that the enterprise agreement should be extended until 30 June 2020 to allow time for negotiations of a new agreement. The Commission considered that the agreement was in the best interests of the employees, and that extending it would avoid significant harm to the employees if the agreement was terminated. The Commission also found that there were exceptional circumstances that justified extending the agreement, including the need to provide certainty to the employees during negotiations. The Commission rejected the company’s opposition to the application, finding that it was not in the best interests of the employees to terminate the agreement.

The Commission ordered that the Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd Enterprise Agreement 2019 be extended until 30 June 2020. The Commission also ordered that the parties must meet within 14 days of the decision to commence negotiations for a new agreement. The Commission further ordered that the parties must make all reasonable efforts to reach agreement on a new enterprise agreement by 30 June 2020.

Grounded Construction Group Pty Ltd

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established